Sunflowers (i.e., Helianthus annuus) are being grown as an increasingly important oilseed crop in many parts of the world. The cultivated sunflower is a major worldwide source of vegetable oil. In the United States, approximately 2 to 3 million acres are planted in sunflowers annually, primarily in the Dakotas and Minnesota. It is recognized that commonly available sunflower plants typically form an endogenous oil within their seeds that primarily includes the following fatty acids in the stated concentrations by weight based upon the total fatty acid content:
______________________________________ Approximate Concentration Fatty Acid Chemical Structure (weight percent) ______________________________________ Palmitic C16:0 7 Palmitoleic C16:1 .01 Stearic C18:0 4 Oleic C18:1 17 to 20 Linoleic C18:2 69 to 72. ______________________________________
See in this regard Table 3 found at Page 409 of Sunflower Science and Technology, Edited by Jack F. Carter (1978). Accordingly, the quantity of pahmitic acid (C16:0) commonly present in the endogenous sunflower oil has been relatively low and the quantity of the polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2) found in the endogenous sunflower oil commonly has been relatively high.
Research conducted in the Soviet Union has reported the development, through chemical mutagenesis, of the Pervenets sunflower from which concentrations of oleic acid (C18:1) in the oil as high as 89.5 percent by weight based upon the total fatty acid content have been reported. See, for instance, "Achievements of Sunflower Breeding in the USSR", by A. V. Pukhalsky et al., Proc. 8th Int. Sunflower Conf., Pages 48 to 55 (1978). Plant material from this research has been made available to the public and forms the basis for the high oleic acid sunflower varieties that are available today. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,627,192 and 4,743,402 for a further discussion of the high oleic acid characteristic in the sunflower plant. A sunflower wherein the endogenous levels of both palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) are provided in an atypical combination of relatively high concentrations is not provided by such research.
Sunflower mutagenesis research conducted in Bulgaria is reported to have yielded an endogenous sunflower oil wherein the concentration of palmitic acid (C16:0) is significantly increased to levels which averaged 40.2 percent by weight in at least some instances. However, in all instances the concentration of the polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2) remained high and substantially exceeded that of the oleic acid (C18:1) that concomitantly was present. See, "Sunflower Breeding for High Palmitic Acid Content in the Oil" by Peter Ivonov et al., Proc. 12th Int. Sunflower Conf., Pages 463 to 465 (1988). A sunflower plant wherein the endogenous levels of both palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) are provided in an atypical combination of relatively high concentrations is not provided by such research.
Further sunflower mutagenesis research conducted in Spain in an effort to make changes in the distribution of fatty acids in the endogenous vegetable oil has been recently reported in the published literature. See, (1) "Sunflower Mutants With Altered Fatty Acid Composition in the Seed Oil" by Rafael Garces et al., Plant Lipid Metabolism, Pages 512 to 514 (1995), and (2) "Mutant Sunflowers with High Concentration of Saturated Fatty Acids in the Oil" by J. Osorio et al., Crop Science, Vol. 35, Pages 739 to 742 (1995). Such research indicates an elevation in the palmitic acid (C16:0) concentration while continuing to produce a significant concentration of linoleic acid (C18:2). Such publications were issued after the completion of the present invention, and do not disclose the presently claimed contribution. Also, these disclosures are believed to be non-enabling since the different plant material resulting from such mutagenesis research is not believed to be available to the public.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel sunflower plants that form seeds which contain an endogenous oil wherein the levels of palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) are provided in an atypical combination via genetic control.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel sunflower seeds which contain an endogenous oil wherein the levels of palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) are provided in an atypical combination via genetic control.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel endogenous sunflower oil which exhibits in the absence of hydrogenation or other chemical or physical modification an atypical combination of concentrations of palmitic acid (C1 6:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) that is under genetic control.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel sunflower plants that form seeds which contain an endogenous oil wherein an atypical combination of levels of palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) is formed under conventional sunflower field growing conditions while under genetic control.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel endogenous sunflower oil that is suitable for use in the production of margarine, shortening, a cocoa butter equivalent, etc. without the requirement of substantial hydrogenation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an endogenous sunflower oil that exhibits a smooth mouth feel in view of the presence of a high concentration of palmitic acid (C16:0) coupled with the stability attributable to a relatively high concentration of the monounsaturated oleic acid (C18:1) and a low concentration of polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2).
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for the formation of sunflower seeds wherein the levels of palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) are provided in an atypical advantageous combination.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and appended claims.